I really like the idea of reducing the number of pitchers on a roster from 13 to 11, with the 10th and 11th slot being "swing slots." "Swing slots" being spots you can designate a certain number of pitchers for (like 4 sounds good) that can be sent up and down more times throughout the year (maybe even unlimited.) The "swing slot" pitchers would need to be named specifically, similar to how a 40 man roster spot works. This would limit what teams have on any given day to incentivize starters going longer, while still giving clubs the flexibility to make roster moves in a long stretch of games or when they're hit with extra innings 3 times in a week or something like that. Basically keep the same number of pitchers on the roster, but in a different way that is manipulating how many people you have available at a time. It certainly wouldn't eliminate the problem or fix the systemic issue of pitchers getting hurt, but I think this would at least lessen the trend and make some pitchers coming through pro ball strive to be the kind of guy that gives you innings instead of just velocity and spin rate. Gotta walk before you can run.

anyone who suggests the game is going to change and revert to teams looking for Less velocity you're sadly mistaken. The advantages of throwing mid to Upper 90s compared to Upper 80s to 92 are so significant it's not going to change.

Pushed my son to work at switch-hitting from when he was a toddler. Coaches were opposed and I moved him from team to team when a youth coach said 'no'. He was a starting 3bman as a sophmore and moved to SS his Jr. / Sr, year. He batted 2nd most every game in HS. As a Sr. he was the SS on the only State Championship tean is school history. (Still the case.) He hit well and had power from both sides of the plate. He did this DESPITE the youth coaches wanting to win now over program development. In college... he played basketball for 4 years. Did the same with my youngest son. It was even worse for him. In HS... he lettered in golf all 4 years. Never played baseball after his 8th grade year.

I hope switch hitters don't disappear. cool part of our game

I love a good pitchers duel. Let more pitch 8 or 9 innings

it's a specialist world now

The way of the DODO and the Knuckleballer.

I have been watching baseball since the 1970's and I played youth baseball and high school in the 1970's and 1980's. The game today is not very enjoyable. I don't think I would watch much baseball at all if I didn't play fantasy. Baseball is on a sugar high as advertising dollars go looking for places where viewers can't or don't fast forward through the commercials. So where am I going with this? I believe that pitchers would not have the incentive to throw 100 mph or risk arm injury throwing designer pitches if they thought the hitter in the box could not hit a HR or hit it over the outfielder's head with just moderate contact. The reason they pitch like they do is to avoid contact at all costs. How would I achieve this version of baseball? There is only one way, and that's to deaden the ball. Players train so hard and hit so much better than they used to. If pitchers believed that most hitters could not do much damage by making contact, they would not try so hard to avoid contact. The soft hits that hitters get these days are accidental. They get jammed or hit the ball off the end of the bat. In previous years, hitters actually tried to hit the ball between the infielders and outfielders. Just look at all of the great pitchers currently on the IL. I watched the Rockies/Padres game last night. The announcers said the two teams combined hit 57 foul balls, and the game was only in the 8th inning. I think Jake Cave made Cease through 12 pitches in one at-bat. I don't want to watch that. If baseball cared about pitcher health and time of game, it would figure out a way to give Jake Cave incentive to put the ball in play. I have to admit that when I played, the coaches taught you to shorten up and put the ball in play with two strikes. No longer. Strikeouts are not viewed as big failures anymore. Hitters continue to take big swings with the hope that they can at least hit a foul ball. For full disclosure, I do not watch much NFL and NBA even though I was a big fan growing up. I don't like how those games have changed either, but I don't play fantasy football or basketball.

What's the players unions for if it's not to protect players from organization? They can get them paid, are they incapable of demanding provisions to protect the players they represent health? Labor unions draw up contracts detailing what they work can or won't due and for how many hours, why can't the players unions demand their pitchers work innings and pitches they'll throw and what kind of pitches they can throw?

Switch hitting disappearing is partially about players not willing to commit at a young age. The main reason is analytics. Teams value power over contact. Kyle Schwarber is a perfect example of this. If you are a contact only switch hitter in today's game, you're more likely to be a utility player.

If all the catchers were required to stay back (and penalized if they don't), then the balls/strike calls would relatively be the same for all teams(level playing field, even with bad calls).

Coaches are always going to instruct catchers at all levels to frame if they think it helps. As a former youth league umpire it has always driven me nuts that framing goes on and gets rewarded at every level. A taken pitch is a strike if it crosses through the strike zone regardless of where it is ultimately received (extreme case-in-point is the eephus pitch). If umpires can't differentiate a ball versus a strike without first checking where the catcher's mitt ends up, then that tells me the umpire isn't watching the baseball or can't see it. Either case screams out the need for robots.

I do not want robo calls. The human element is more important to baseball than any other sport, even when the call is wrong it adds to the emotional attachment you have while watching.

Yes, fans do like starting pitchers. I get tired of watching all these teams "bullpenning" the starting job. It would be like watching an NBA game and having your team's star basketball player sit for no reason after 1 quarter--boring. Baseball fans don't get excited about middle relievers, and, essentially, many starters have become just that (nothing against the LaTroy Hawkins of the world). Also, having all this speed is fun to watch only in small doses--not all the time. Many of the greatest pitchers of all time were finesse pitchers. Think Warren Spahn (especially later in his career), Don Sutton, and Jamie Moyer. They didn't overpower hitters but outsmarted them. That's more fun to watch because it means the ball is put into play more often. Here are some possible ideas: Yes, I agree with reducing the roster size. That seems like an obvious place to start. Or what about experimenting in the minors with a mandatory pitch count on the starter, so that they have to pitch a minimum of 100 pitches no matter what (except for injury, of course)? Or, maybe teams should be penalized if they put in a reliever before a certain inning--say, penalize them 1 run, or giving the other team a ghost runner on second base in the next inning. I don't know but the MLB should try something.

What about the move to everyone catching on one knee so they can "steal the low strike?" If the pitcher misses his spot, how many balls get missed because they can't get over to catch it? How many balls are missed because the catcher can't or won't drop and block? How can they throw out runners catching on one knee as well as catching in the traditional stance? Analytics is ruining the game.

That’s crazy all these topics from catchers to pitchers to switch hitters No one really cares about developing players or their safety. Sad

Can you guys stop with using a few seconds of the interview as the intro? It’s annoying and the seconds are wasteful & redundant.

Diamond is 🎯 re switch hitting. Have to commit to it when you're young for long term player development. Winning travel trophies at 12 is not serving the athlete long term. Need a hard reset on youth baseball culture.

Pitch framing is just abusing the elderly and the mentally disabled. Bring on the robot zone and stop valuing fooling idiots as a valuable baseball skill.

Present day MLB is a terrible product and absolutely unwatchable.